Dome

Left side chapel, niche to the right of the altar, detail; Begun 1099, Santa Maria del Popolo was reconstructed by Baccio Pontelli and Andrea Bregno in 1472-1477, commissioned by the association of the Lombards of Rome, creating an excellent example of Italian Renaissance architecture. In 1655-1660 the facade was modified by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was asked by Pope Alexander VII to update the Renaissance church to a more modern Baroque style. [Wikipedia] "Another church project in Rome commissioned from Bramante by Julius II was the extended choir for S Maria del Popolo (completed 1509), built to house the tombs of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza and Cardinal Girolamo Basso della Rovere (d 1507)." [Santa Maria del Popolo contains important chapels: della Rovere, Chigi, Cybo, and Sant'Agostino.] Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/20/2008)